


where did you come from

by icantremember



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Library, Casual drinking, Fluff, It's too sweet, Karaoke, M/M, karaoke bar, lots of fluff, side gyuhao - Freeform, side soonwoo, soonyoung has a cowboy hat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 03:29:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12424146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icantremember/pseuds/icantremember
Summary: Nothing prepared Jun for the first time he saw Jihoon.And absolutely nothing could ever prepare him for the feeling of slowly falling for someone.





	where did you come from

It's in a coffee shop where Jun first sees the most beautiful thing he's ever laid his eyes upon.

A coffee shop. Where breathing in the fragrance of ground coffee beans is almost, yet not quite as effective as downing a warm mug of the caffeinated beverage. Where gentle beats and acoustic strums blend in sync with scattered muffled conversations. Where Jun smiles warmly at a shop worker delivering the freshly baked chocolate chip cookie and the jasmine green tea he had ordered.

He doesn’t notice him at first. He starts out as a blur in Jun’s peripherals, passing by his seat as he slowly flips through a novel. Jun can barely hear the scrape of the wooden chair against the tiled floor, the light tap of a plastic take-away cup on the table, and the creak of the seat as the fellow shop patron settles himself down a few tables from where Jun is sitting.

A cloud of black is removed to reveal a blanket of red, or at least this is what Jun translates through his peripherals. His focus on the words in front of him waver as the movements ahead of him try to call his attention.

He shakes his head and continues his novel, a bit too excited about finishing this particular chapter. His eyes glide over each sentence and his imagination welcomes the stimulation of each word. His ears, however, pick up the rip of paper and the pop of a straw being pushed through the plastic lid, ice cubes clinking against each other.

It’s when the slurping sounds start that Jun’s attention is finally torn away from his novel.

The first thing he notices is how obnoxiously large the shop patron’s red sweater is—the shoulder seams rest right above his elbows and the sleeve cuffs are rolled up more than once, his fingers barely peeking through the ends. Jun eyes the black coat folded hastily on the chair. It’s probably even larger.

The second thing Jun notices is how much whipped cream fills the top of his drink, and strains to see if there is any form of liquid in the cup to accompany the whipped cream and ice. He doesn’t get very far in his observation, because his attention was caught by thing number three.

The third thing he notices might as well be the only thing he notices, as Jun feels his mind go blank at the sight. The stranger who caught Jun’s eye slowly wraps his lips around the straw in preparation to take another sip of his drink. Time moves at a snail's pace in his mind.

And there, it happens. One sip reveals a hint of them at first: tiny little indents on either side of the stranger’s mouth, disappearing just as fast as they appeared. Jun watches as the stranger pulls his drink away from his mouth, his lips smacking together as he makes sense of the flavors on his taste buds.

He continues to stare as the stranger pulls the straw back into his mouth, taking a sip that lasts much longer than before. The minuscule indents he witnessed only moments earlier transform into craters.

Jun finds himself falling deep into them.

 

—

 

The second time Jun sees him, he’s reading in the library.

The library brings a sense of comfort to Jun that he fails to find anywhere else. The indescribable scent that wafts his way as he flips through aged pages of novels is pleasantly familiar, while the occasional yellowing that outlines the edges of the off white pages feels comfortable to the eye.

Jun is nestled in the corner of the common reading space, the red, plush fabric of the armchair he’s sitting in molding to the curves of his body. He turns the pages of his novel, a sci-fi thriller that he hasn’t read in a few years, and continues his journey where he left off days before.

He’s used to tuning out the movements and sounds that surrounded him while he read, and he never really had any trouble until today.

It starts out as tiny thuds against the matted carpet of the library. Jun shrugs it aside, assuming that little children decided to be rowdy in the library as they usually do. The thuds continue at an odd rhythm, and it shouldn’t bother Jun as much as it does but the sounds start to get louder and louder until he could no longer shut it out. He prepares a super nasty expression on his face, expecting to direct it to a being of the toddler variety. What he sees, however, is the struggle of someone trying to reach a book currently laying on a shelf way too high for him to reach.

The stranger makes a face of pure and utter frustration, quickly glancing around, and Jun stares in wonder and confusion. He debates whether or not he should help him, as he clearly couldn’t reach the book he was in need of, but his internal debate swiftly ends as Jun and the stranger suddenly make eye contact from across the room.

He purses his lips in what seems like a silent plea for help and Jun’s eyes immediately widen at the sight of dimples appearing on his face as a result. The faint fragrance of whipped cream seeps into his memories as his legs move without thought, carrying him towards the bookshelf. Jun is still in a trance as he stops a mere two feet away from the stranger, who mutters about how he couldn’t find the step stool they usually have lying around and how none of the librarians were there to help him.

He points towards a shelf that is a good three or four heads taller than he is, where Jun spots a decently sized spine garnished with gold foil letters on top of a dark green background, and requests politely for Jun to retrieve it for him.

Jun nods firmly to the stranger, turns towards the bookshelf, and stretches his arm as far as it can go in attempt to reach the book. Overestimating how tall the shelf actually was, Jun finds himself straining to wrap his fingers around the spine of the book, praying in his mind that he doesn’t make a complete fool of himself in the process.

Numerous huffs of breath and mini hops are all it takes for Jun to finally grab the book. He lowers it towards the dude in distress, but not before noticing the gold _Peter Pan_ embossed in script on the cover.

A small _thanks_ escaped the stranger’s lips, followed by a string of admiration over this particular Disney story. Jun could only nod in reply, his vocal chords tied up over how extremely and unexpectedly close they were standing to each other. Eventually, the stranger takes the book in his hands and hugs it tight to his chest. His arms wrap around the book over protectively, and Jun finds himself longing to feel a similar embrace. He’s about to walk away when the stranger calls him back.

_Jihoon._

That’s how he introduces himself to Jun. Two syllables followed by an open hand outstretched in front of him. Jun replies with his own name, and slowly takes Jihoon’s hand in his. His eyes widen at how imperfectly harmonious their hands look together; soft, delicate and light intertwined with the heavy, rough angles of his own. Jihoon smiles gently at Jun, his dimples peeking out on either side of his lips.

A slight nod and a soft _thanks again_ left Jun lingering over Jihoon’s smile.

 

—

 

The third time Jun sees him, he’s dragged out to karaoke night with his friends.

It’s Soonyoung’s idea, as all their friend outings are, to go out for a night of what he says is _ultimate friendship bonding through off-pitch screams and tons and tons of alcohol_. They decide to meet at the karaoke bar in town.

Jun is the last of his friends to arrive at the venue. He spots Soonyoung and Wonwoo, huddled over the bar in mid conversation with a blonde bartender sporting a charming gummy smile. As Jun approaches his friends, he overhears Soonyoung demanding a bottle of the best whiskey in the house. Wonwoo laughs at the bartender’s utterly confused expression and assures the blonde that they’ll just start out with a few bottles of soju.  

Jun likes to think of the pair as a voice of reason: Soonyoung being the voice and Wonwoo being the reason.

They head over to a vacant booth. Mingyu is on the karaoke stage, flailing his arm wildly as he sings the Cotton-Eyed Joe, while Minghao makes an attempt at an interpretive dance in the background. Jun scans the bar, pleasantly surprised at the amount of patrons donning the dance floor. Soonyoung rushes to the front of the crowd, smiling brightly as he leads the line dance with his impeccable moves. He’s twirling a metallic gold cowboy hat on his finger. Where did he get a cowboy hat? Jun will never know.

The song finishes and the trio returns to their table, smiles wide and breaths shallow. Wonwoo raises his hand towards Soonyoung for a high five and Soonyoung reciprocates by diving into the booth, wiping his sweaty face all over Wonwoo’s shirt. Jun watches as Minghao impressively downs two shots in a row and settles himself next to Mingyu, who yells about how he’s always wanted to know the lyrics to Cotton-Eyed Joe and how his goal has finally been achieved.

They’re all arguing about who should sing next when a backing track of harmonizing strings and brass starts to play through the surround sound speakers propped up around the bar. Minghao rolls his eyes, recognizing the song immediately, and starts muttering about how it’ll probably be a really bad Louis Armstrong impersonation or something along those lines.

The rest of the group pays no mind to it and continues on with their argument. Jun, however, becomes completely mesmerised by the voice that starts to accompany the music.

It’s as if someone gave a sound to the feeling of running your fingertips over the fabric of a warm, freshly-washed cotton t-shirt, or the feeling of a marshmallow melting on your tongue as you sip a hot chocolate by the fireplace. It’s soft and gentle, yet carries a soulfulness that reaches into your very own. Jun could feel his heart melt as warm melodies seep into his bloodstream, his heartbeat steadily circulating the warmth throughout his body.

He strains his neck in the process of matching the voice to a face. When he does he is both pleasantly surprised and not surprised at all.

It’s Jihoon.

Of _course_ it’s Jihoon.

Jun wants to converse with his friends and decide what song to sing next. He wants to take another shot of soju and use his beer as a chaser. He wants to admire all of the patrons on the dance floor. There are so many thing that Jun wants to do in that moment, but he simply could not tear his attention away from Jihoon.

He feels like a deer in the headlights, wide eyed and immobile in the unexpected presence of the brightest light he’s ever seen. His surroundings become muted and the only thing he hears is Jihoon’s voice.

Jihoon is perched on a stool in the middle of the small stage, microphone grasped in his hand as his voice is amplified through the speakers. The rowdy crowd on the dance floor during Mingyu’s performance is replaced with an ocean of soft embracing and rhythmic swaying, and the waves send a calming, yet emotional aura through the entire bar.

Jihoon’s soft voice is a gentle contradiction to the deep, piercing tones of the track’s original artist, which Jun warmly welcomes. The song’s iconic line appears, and as the words _what a wonderful world_ escape Jihoon’s mouth, his dimples grace the stage.

Jun simultaneously dreads and welcomes every single word in the lyrics accompanied by Jihoon’s dimples.

The song ends much sooner than Jun wants it to, and a small applause can be heard from all throughout the bar as Jihoon bows politely before walking off the stage. Convincing himself that the alcohol currently spread across their table isn’t strong enough for what he’s feeling, Jun saunters over to the bar and settles into a stool, waving the bartender over.

He’s twirling the glass in his hand, the clear liquid coating the ice cubes that rest at the bottom of the cup, hoping that ordering his drink on the rocks would help cool the heat running through his veins. The buzzing of conversation at the bar is accompanied by harmonizing falsettos and _say yeses,_ and Jun sways to the rhythm as he downs the stinging liquid in his glass. He would have missed the small _hello_ to his right if not for the light tap he feels on his shoulder.

_Oh, Jihoon._

_Jun right?_ He hears, his stool swiveling to his left as he nods in reply, reminding himself that they’re now on a first name basis. They’re both relatively tipsy at this point, completely skipping awkward conversation between acquaintances and delving neck deep into old friends reuniting instead. Slurred words and blurry smiles are exchanged as they talk about meaningless things that they may or may not remember the next day.

Jun learns that Jihoon laughs with his whole body: his hair flopping to the side as he leans backwards at a dangerous angle, his feet kicking the air in rhythm with his breathy laughs, his eyes disappearing as his smile widens. Jihoon places his hand on Jun’s forearm to catch his balance and Jun is completely unprepared for the heat that radiates from just one touch. He doesn’t know what to do, or how to respond. All he knows is that he doesn’t want this to end.

A loud _Juuuuun_ from across the bar breaks the moment, and Jun panics knowing that his time on the stage is about to come. Jihoon, still recovering from the laughing fit he had moments ago, pulls his phone out and thrusts it in Jun’s hands, telling him to hurry before he is whisked away. He sees the dial pad on the screen and hears Jihoon asking for his _phone number, silly_. Jun barely manages to press the last digit of his number before he feels his arm being yanked towards the stage, his heart beating faster than it should.

Jun doesn’t remember what song he is singing. He barely remembers Soonyoung and Wonwoo behind him, dancing in tandem to the beats of the song.

The only thing he does remember is the smile on Jihoon’s face as they make eye contact. And in that moment, Jun only sings to an audience of one.

What a wonderful world it is.

 

—

 

It's in a coffee shop where Jihoon first sees the most beautiful thing he's ever laid his eyes upon.

He’s in need of something sweet to offset the unimaginably crappy day he’s been having. The fragrant composition of bitter coffee and freshly baked goods fills Jihoon’s lungs, instantly relaxing him as he takes deep breaths in the shop.

He orders his drink and makes his way towards the pick up counter, an _iced mocha, extra heavy on the whipped cream_ printed on his receipt.

Jihoon glances around the coffee shop as he waits for his order, bored and borderline impatient. A runner passes by him, mug in one hand and a large, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie on a plate in the other. Jihoon’s eyes the cookie as it’s carried towards a black-haired shop patron who’s buried in the pages of a hefty looking book.

The ceramic of the mug and plate knock gently against the wooden table as the patron’s order is being delivered, and Jihoon’s attention flickers from the warm cookie to the even warmer smile on the recipient's face.

He’s completely taken aback. Is it because of how excruciatingly beautiful this man’s smile is? Or is it because of the genuine adoration and compassion that seems to fuel that very smile?

Jihoon’s stare lingers past the expiration of the stranger’s smile and he’s left wanting more. He almost misses his name being called over the counter, a plastic take–away cup filled with whipped cream being handed to him.

He didn’t plan on staying, yet found himself walking towards a vacant seat conveniently placed only a few tables from where the stranger was sitting. Jihoon sets his cup down before settling into the chair, grimacing slightly at the creaking sound it makes as his weight adjusts to the seat. He takes off his black coat, folds it hastily on the chair next to him, and fixes the cuffs of his favorite red sweater.

Jihoon rips the paper off his disposable straw and slips it into his cup while simultaneously trying to absorb every single detail of the stranger into his memory. The stark yet delicate slope of his nose is angled towards the open spine of his book, his eyelashes fluttering lightly as his eyes explore the pages. He seems so engulfed in the novel he was reading, and Jihoon is immediately engulfed in him.

Jihoon finally turns his attention back to the drink that was meant to flush out every ounce of negativity he was feeling throughout the day. He takes a sip, the combination of mocha and whipped cream lightening his mood the instant it hits his taste buds.

He sits for a moment, his lips pursing in thought as he takes a second sip of his drink, questioning whether or not his drink was the only purpose of his momentary happiness.

Jihoon is sure of one thing. He wants to know what it would feel like if, just if, that smile was directed at him.

 

—

 

Nothing prepared Jun for the first time he saw Jihoon’s dimples.

Nothing prepared Jihoon for the first time he saw Jun’s smile.

And absolutely nothing could ever prepare them for the feeling of slowly falling for each other.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Jun thanks the barista as he balances the two mugs in his hands, carefully making his way to his seat. He places the mugs gently on the table in front of him, the light fragrance of green tea steaming from the surface of one while an absurd amount of whipped cream balances itself in the other. He pushes the cup of whipped cream to the other side of the table and breathes in the scent of melted chocolate wafting from the plate of warm cookies, resting next to a pair of eager hands.

They’re about to dive into their drinks when Jun quickly slips a straw into the mug full of whipped cream. He hears a laugh from the other side of the table, where Jihoon sits, head tipped back in pure amusement.

Jihoon takes a moment to look at Jun, smiling affectionately.

Jun notices the way Jihoon looks at him. He notices the small dimples that appear slightly. He notices the love in his eyes.

And he smiles back just as fondly.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> kinda mad i pulled the title from Cotton Eyed Joe. even more mad that it sort of makes sense in context.
> 
>  
> 
> find me on twitter [orangejuns](https://twitter.com/orangejuns) xx
> 
> thanks to [kait](https://twitter.com/96iine) for beta reading !!
> 
> also a mini shoutout to [uza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/uza/pseuds/uza) aka mother of karaoke boys, who inspired the karaoke scene xx please check out her works you won’t regret it !!


End file.
